Shenzhen Interchange / WORKac ~ Civil engineering

Shenzhen Interchange / WORKac

The latest and greatest in recent skyscraper design tends to be vertically homogenous and self-referential, only mixing program at the base, and responding to the immediate context ornamentally. The Shenzhen Interchange competition entry by WORKac defies this mode of apparatus by embracing a new kind of density-one that is more mixed and vertical. Shenzhen, one of the fastest growing cities in China is the ideal location for this digression, as its exponential growth necessitates a new agenda for skyscraper design.

The new metropolis calls for a schema rooted in diversity and sustainability, enlivening spaces with intense urban interchange. Formally organized by the trajectories of the metro, the design embodies the context of the site rather than relegating it to an unremarkable aesthetic move. The subway is programmed into the tower as the elevators provide direct access from the upper private units. The infrastructure, mixed uses, and public spaces are extruded vertically through the tower, in an effort to create ‘stacked cities in the air’. Pieces of the tower are carved away to allow for ‘green pockets’ which endeavor to reposition the ground in the sky and further articulate the perception of verticality.